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Beaverton breaks through to win on the road at Redmond 14-10

But the Beavers' first win of the season doesn't come easily - Austin Potter's fourth-quarter TD pass clinches it

REDMOND - It's easy to overstate the importance of any non-league game in this new era of Metro League football, but Beaverton wasn't about to downplay its first win of the season.

The Beavers knocked off Redmond 14-10 at Redmond High School Friday night behind two Austin Potter touchdown passes and, in the process, lifted their non-league record to 1-2. The Panthers, coming off a 35-34 win over Bend, fell to 1-2.

It was 'huge,' said Beaverton coach Bob Boyer. 'We needed to start seeing the result of our hard work. We have been improving every week and the score finally showed it.'

It wasn't easy, though. After a scoreless first quarter, it was Redmond that struck first Friday night, getting a 24-yard touchdown run from Clayton York and a Lane Tucker extra point to lead 7-0.

But the Beavers responded in kind, getting a 27-yard Potter-to-Joel Gross TD pass later in the quarter to knot the score at 7-7 at the half.

Redmond pushed ahead again in the fourth quarter, this time to 10-7 on Tucker's 26-yard field goal, but when Beaverton responded this time, the Panthers had no comeback. Potter got it done through the air again, capping his team's game-winning drive with a 7-yard TD strike to David Mabry in the final period.

'The (offensive) line is really starting to come together,' Boyer said. 'The running game is getting stronger each week and that opens up the passing game.'

And that, coupled with a strong effort on defense - led by defensive back Ryan Fulmer and safety Alex Corona (11 tackles including two for loss) - paved the way for the Beavers' first win of 2006. Boyer also complimented the play of offensive linemen Jeremiah Whited, Devin Fitzpatrick, Matt Scott, Bruton and Colin Currier.

'On defense, we are becoming more physical and starting to play as a group,' Boyer said. 'They came after us all night. We just really played well, the way we should play.'

For the game, Cam McDonnell led Beaverton with 56 yards rushing on 10 carries and Potter completed 12-of-28 passes for 158 yards. Gross led Beaver receivers with 67 yards on three catches.